About Me

Originally a geologist by training, I now work as a museum professional. My passion is old photographs, the photographers who took them, the equipment and technologies they used, the people and scenes in the photos, and the stories behind them.

Friday, 13 July 2012

Sepia Saturday 134: Normanton "Rec"

The photo prompt for Sepia Saturday this week titled, "Autriche Vienne," is a glass negative under the by-line of pioneer French photojournalist and press agent Charles Chusseau-Flaviens, borrowed from the George Eastman House collection on Flickr, a resource that I've often referred to myself. It was chosen by Marilyn aka Little Nell who has been very capably caretaking Sepia Saturday for the last few weeks while our usual host Alan was away.

Fellow contributer Rob from Amersfoort has confirmed what I already suspected, that it was taken in the magnificent Belvedere Gardens in Wien (Vienna), which I had the good fortune to visit in 1989 and again in 1993. The wall in the background is that of the Convent of the Salesian Sisters, the dome of which is clearly visible at the right of my photo. Apart from the conical conifers in the sunken garden which have disappeared, and some extra ivy on the wall, little has changed over the last century.

Just as that image stirred memories, so did the recent purchase which I have as my contribution this week, although in a somewhat different manner. Like the photograph of a Viennese woman pushing her baby in an elaborate pram through the Belvedere gardens, mine too is an albumen on glass negative, showing children in a playground and including several prams or pushchairs. There are few clues to where it was taken - although it was accompanied by another glass slide clearly titled as being from Derby - and the view seemed very familiar. Once the purchase arrived I scanned it and started wading through the few books of Derby photographic views that I own, in particular the two volumes of WW Winter Collections, Maxwell Craven's Keene's Derby and Rod Jewell's Yesterday's Derby.

It didn't take long for me to locate the image I had remembered, and my purchase proved to be exactly the same scene as that of Normanton Recreation Ground in one of a series of four postcards (Nos. 465-468) produced by F.W. Scarratt in 1911. The playground was opened on 4 September 1909, and the photographs could been taken any time between then and their presumed 1911 publishing date. The example illustrated in Rod Jewell's book was posted on 30 August 1911, with this charming message:

Dear Daddy, Thank you for your PC, This is where I see-saw. I do so like it. With lots of love, Mary.

Postcard number 467 is a similar view of the same playground, probably taken just a few minutes before or after number 466. This image shows even more prams, including a rather small one in the foreground, presumably containing a doll, but I could find no no see-saws. Jewell notes that the boy in shorts on the right hand side must have been trespassing, as this was a "girls only" playground, and the boys' one was separate.

My grandfather Leslie Payne (1892-1975) grew up in New Normanton, but by 1909 he would have been a little old for playgrounds. His younger brother Harold Victor Payne (1898-1921) was then 11, so could easily have been in the boys' section nearby, while his cousins Harry Payne (1906-1974) and Clarence Benfield Payne (1907-1982) might well have been occupants of one of the prams, perhaps attended by one of their aunts Lily Payne (1882-1968) or Helen Payne (1883-1933). It seems likely my grandmother Ethel Brown (1894-1978) or one of her three younger brothers would also have been frequent visitors to the Normaton Rec.

A third postcard in the series (I haven't yet found an image of number 466) has a more general view of the "Rec," as it was commonly termed. Young trees are widely spaced on either side of a broad path, bordered by a wide expanse of lawns, and with the park pavilion in the background. The view includes several women and children out for a stroll, the former wearing the wide-brimmed hats so fashionable in the pre-War years, and a man seated on a park bench who is either lifting is straw boater to the passing ladies or shielding his eyes from the low afternoon sun.

Detail of Normanton Recreation Grounds, Derby, 1911

I was a little surprised at the wide variety of perambulators seen in these images, demonstrating that the ornate versions seen in studio portraits weren't necessarily just studio props.

Detail of Normanton Recreation Grounds, Derby, 1911

The small pavilion at the back of the playground, looking suspiciously like a railway carriage - Midland Railways' carriage works were located not far away from Normanton Rec - is probably where the mothers are sheltering.

Detail of Normanton Recreation Grounds, Derby, 1911

I was also intrigued by the presence of another, slightly older, boy in this photograph. I think he's getting bored with being ordered around by those two bossy girls, and is about to poke his eye out with that large stick. Perhaps readers would like to come up with a caption or explanation of their own for this playground vignette?

Detail of Normanton Recreation Grounds, Derby, 1911

Judging by the "tab" visible at the left hand edge of this glass plate negative - probably an artefact from the camera used to take the photograph - I believe this must be one of Scarratt's originals, or possibly a roughly contemporary copy made from the original for production purposes. By 1911 Scarratt had been producing postcards for only eight years, but had built up an extensive catalogue of views to rival the much larger regional or nation-wide publishers. He was Derby's first picture postcard publisher, and was in business until 1938. How an original example of his work ended up on eBay, I've no idea, but I count myself fortunate to have chanced on this fragment of Derby's postcard history.

27 comments:

I’m so glad you joined in this week Brett. I have an interest in children’ games and street lore and this busy scene is so full of delightful detail. One thing that strikes me is the number of children using the rec. I don’t think they’re so well used these days, and children don’t play out as much. The PC young Mary was thanking her father for would have been his computer these days!

Is the girl on crutches Brett? Polio or Rickets? I thought the next photo was an x ray of her leg until I read more carefully!

Then I got distracted, as usual, and wondered if X rays had been invented in 1910ish. According to what I read...Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845 – 1923) a German physicist. In 1895, he produced and detected electromagnetic radiation in a wavelength range today known as X-rays (or Röntgen rays in some countries), an achievement that earned him the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901. He took the very first picture using X-rays of his wife's hand in 1895.

Then I wondered why I had never heard of this man. Could the reason be because his name was expunged from our history books in the same manner as our Royal family, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, changed to House of Windsor? High anti-German sentiment amongst the people of the British Empire during World War 1 reached a peak in March 1917, when the Gotha G.IV, a heavy aircraft capable of crossing the English Channel began bombing London directly.

What was that street in Normanton named, that the Payne family had some connection with, the name being changed from a German to a British sounding name in a similar manner?

Anyway...back to the subject. I have driven past Normanton Rec so may times in my life but I don't think I have ever walked round it. This prompts me to do so, but is raining today, as it has every day since April 1 and no doubt will do so until the Olympics are over. No overseas visitor to London would expect anything else.

Oh yes...now I remember, it was Bladensburg Street, Normanton. It sounded a trifle German but in fact it was presumably named after:(Wiki)...."The Battle of Bladensburg took place during the War of 1812. The defeat of the American forces there allowed the British to capture and burn the public buildings of Washington, D.C. It has been called "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms."............ Well, only indirectly "German", but certainly anti German intolerance was at such a height that even the sound was sufficient to offend.

The street was re-named Birdwood Street. (Wiki):....."Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood (1865 – 1951) was a First World War British general who is best known as the commander of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915......"

It looks to me as if you have an old horse drawn tram for the kids to play in.

It should help you with dating. The new electric trams came in in 1904.

But I am not convinced it is a Derby tram. I think the roof-line is not the same as the trams in an original photo I have of my John Dean ancestor drapery shop in St Peter's Street Derby. I think the image has been used by you on Photosleuth, but it is also at:http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/frontend.php?action=printdetails&keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;DRBY001651&prevUrl=

You always amaze me, Brett. You get so much detail and information from these postcards. The recreation grounds round here never seem to be in use except as the place to thow empty drinks cans. I spent nearly 3 years working with BR in Derby but never as far as I know got anywhere near Normanton.

Nigel: I have seen an X-ray (then called a skiagraphic) in the service records of a soldier from the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great war, so they definitely were around. I thought they might be crutches too. Well I've heard of Röntgen - what can I say? I'd appreciate a photo of Normanton Rec once the Olympics are over, thank you. About the pavilion - I don't really think it was a railway carriage - it seems a little small for that - but it has similar design aspects, and I thought it could well have been built by folk from the carriage works, where my great-grandfather was employed at one time.

Little Nell: I've sent you a detailed scan of the negative, and perhaps you will be able to deduce a few further clues? This study of the playground brings to mind a post I wrote some years ago (Letter to America) which included accounts of playground antics by my Normanton family in the 1890s. One often sees studio photos of children with toys, but vernacular photos from the late 1800s and early 1900s depicting children at play are not nearly as common.

Kristin: The same thought - about the empty buggies - occurred to me, and I think you're right. They would probably have come to the playground from some distance away, which perhaps smaller children couldn't manage without assistance, particularly if being looked after by older siblings, as many seemed to be.

Postcardy: Yes, very lucky. Rod Jewell, who must have spoken to family members in the course of researching his book, wrote, "... after his death ... thousands of photographs, negatives and postcards were thrown away." Clearly some have survived, and I'm obviously wondering if there are any more lurking somewhere in a dusty corner.

Bob S: You may have passed closer to Normanton - or New Normanton, to give it its proper name, and to distinguish it from South Normanton - than you realized. It is the southern Derby suburb immediately adjacent to Litchurch, which is where the railway good yards are/were, and where most of the Midland Railways employees lived. Both areas grew enormously from the 1880s onwards, and my gg-grandfather Henry Payne built many houses in the area - both for clients and on spec - during that time. Bladensburg Street - mentioned by Nigel in an earlier comment - was almost certainly named after the area in Maryland where Henry unsuccessfully tried to settle in 1880.

Another fascinating mix of social and photographic history, Brett. Such common childhood scenes would make nice postcards for auntie to buy at the local shops, but how many do you think they typically printed?

I'm flattered you were inspired to search for my mystery twins. I considered doing the same but their birth year of 1911-12 left only the 1920 census to use and by that time they might have moved. I only wish there were more detailed search features on the census records.

But you inspired me to do my due diligence and reexamine the census records for the families I do know lived in my home and I was surprised to discover the names of not one but two black household servants. One was a woman who worked until 1938 so now I have a probable name! So thanks for the effort.

Mike: I think you have a point there. Initially Scarratt seems to have produced general scenes, printed in Germany as were most others of the time. As time went on, he seemed to have specialised on more local scenes, probably in limited print runs, which would have been of less interest to the big publishers like Valentines, Photochrom, etc. For the more popular scenes of city centres and tourist spots, there was just too much competition.

Good find with the servants in the census records. I feel the photobooth portrait comes from at least the 1930s, perhaps later, but I'm not so good at dating clothing from that late.

Brett, my husband has suggested that the little lad is not trying to poke his eye out but, from the way he is squinting, he is ‘sighting’ or ‘lining up’. He also suggested rickets for the little girl who we are agreed is probably on crutches. Perhap they are going to mark out a game with a lump of chalk. That might explain why the girls are peering at the ground.

Everything was so ornamented at this time I always enjoy the detail given to even everyday objects. So much going on in these photos I just loved looking at the elements you picked out. Our local play area is always full but its not the size of the Normanton Rec.